Daisychain, weight is weeeird. So you can drop several pounds after weeks of trying and not much luck. Just take it and keep working at your goal weight! (Maybe your body's MO is to hold on to weight for a while and then drop it somewhat suddenly?)

_________________"Vegan to me means Oreos for breakfast." -Poopiebitch"tl;dr: I quit working to drink beer paid for with gift cards" erikasoyf*cker

Maybe my body has separation anxiety?! I'm less depressed and anxious too so maybe that is something to do with it? Oh well.... if it means more sweet food for me I suppose it is a good thing. It also means I am only 3 pounds away from getting back to my weight watchers goal that I reached last year.

I've really cleaned up my diet the last couple of weeks (less sugar, less alcohol, less bread) and have been eating lots of salads, smoothies, and soups and I don't know if I've actually lost anything (I don't own a scale) but my clothes feel like they fit better! Score!

I don't have a scale so it was hard to measure yesterday and be exactly the same as last week. But this stuff takes time! And my body loses weight at weird intervals, so whatever, I guess? I'm going to keep on keeping on with the healthy eating and watching caloric intake.

_________________"Vegan to me means Oreos for breakfast." -Poopiebitch"tl;dr: I quit working to drink beer paid for with gift cards" erikasoyf*cker

Have any of you guys ever maintained a weight for a period of time? I'm currently at my goal weight but am going through a cycle of gaining about two or three pounds but then losing it then gaining back those few pounds I just lost. I'm finding it really frustrating. Any words of wisdom?

It's tough. I had maintained my weight loss for 5 or 6 years (before I gained some back). I'd bounce around the same 5 lbs.

I think the only advice I can give you is to continue doing whatever you were doing to lose the weight. I think losing weight is easier than maintaining because with losing you have a 'goal' but with maintaining, you are looking for stability which isn't always easy.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

I think weight will always fluctuate-it's dependent on a lot of things but that it's perfectly ok w/in about 5 pounds or so. Mostly it's just still maintaining awareness of what you're eating, keeping moderation in mind, etc. I find that I tend to maintain fairly easily until I get stressed/stop paying attention. (ie, start eating way more baked goods, mindless eating, etc)

_________________"Vegan to me means Oreos for breakfast." -Poopiebitch"tl;dr: I quit working to drink beer paid for with gift cards" erikasoyf*cker

Have any of you guys ever maintained a weight for a period of time? I'm currently at my goal weight but am going through a cycle of gaining about two or three pounds but then losing it then gaining back those few pounds I just lost. I'm finding it really frustrating. Any words of wisdom?

This is exactly where I am. I am still looking for the answers!

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

Have any of you guys ever maintained a weight for a period of time? I'm currently at my goal weight but am going through a cycle of gaining about two or three pounds but then losing it then gaining back those few pounds I just lost. I'm finding it really frustrating. Any words of wisdom?

This is exactly where I am. I am still looking for the answers!

In the good old days (pre antidepressants) my weight would knock around within a 3 pound range so I wouldn't worry. It is more normal for your weight to vary than stay the same.

I'm not even stepping on a scales this week. Between PMS and these damn tablets sugar is my crack. It is heartbreaking. Like I was actually shaking out at one point in work because I so badly "needed" sugar.

Joining this thread. I'm stress eating my way through my thesis. Now my interview clothes don't fit and I can't afford to buy new stuff so I need to lose a bit around my middle. Ugh.

I know some folks aren't into it but I'm having a lot of luck counting calories. Last time I weighed in I was down 5 lb. Problem is, I'm in a bit of a food rut. If anyone wants to friend me on my fitness pal, I'm couroupita on there as well. I need some inspiration and the vegans I'm friends with on there eat weird stuff. They seem to only consume cliff bars, protein powder, and raw fruits! :-/

I'm just finishing up my period so I weighed in this morning at 130.5lb which is a miracle because I went on an insane sugar and carb binge thanks to hormones this week! I'm out of money so no junk food until payday on Thursday so I should have a good week.

I'm really noticing the 7lbs that I've lost. It really shows around my hips and I have very little in the way of muffin top these days.

This thread is huge so there is a chance this was already mentioned, but in case it was not there is a free online weight control support site called sparkpeople.com. The interface takes some getting used to but there are loads of people there to give support. The site even has a "Post Punk Kitchen Sparkpeople Team" (reserved web board):

Ugh. I'm so frustrated at the moment. I'm bouncing around 200 - 210 and not losing anymore. I'm working out consistently, changing it up (just started Body Combat 3 weeks ago) and I almost always stay under my calories.

If anyone wants to check it out, my dairy is on myfitnesspal and I'm assilembob on there too. I'd take whatever advice I can get at this point. I have 250+ days of logging! To me for the most part (I do have one treat a day usually) I eat really healthy.

_________________~Sweet songs the youth, the wise, the meeting of all wisdom. To believe in the good in man.

Have any of you guys ever maintained a weight for a period of time? I'm currently at my goal weight but am going through a cycle of gaining about two or three pounds but then losing it then gaining back those few pounds I just lost. I'm finding it really frustrating. Any words of wisdom?

Around two years ago I lost about 40 pounds and hit my then-goal weight of 125. For awhile I remained on top of calorie counting in order to maintain, and would feel really frustrated if the scale moved up a couple of pounds. I then got into distance running for about a year and didn't really need to track my caloric intake to maintain. Then, at some point, I became really busy with school and drastically reduced the amount of time I spent exercising (these days I manage 45 minutes of cardio thrice a week and the rare strength-training session), but never went back to calorie counting.

I went about six months without weighing myself at all, and jumped on the scale right after Christmas thinking I would be disappointed at the number. It read 130--that's 5 pounds over my goal weight two years after I first reached it, which in the grand scheme of things is nothing.

So, yes, I've more or less maintained, and with pretty minimal effort, especially these last six months. I used to be concerned that every time the number on the scale went up it meant I was headed toward a steady weight gain, but like others have pointed out, these fluctuations are completely normal. Frankly, after the post-Christmas weigh-in I look back to my early maintenance days and feel really sad that I so frequently let numbers get me down.

Ugh. I'm so frustrated at the moment. I'm bouncing around 200 - 210 and not losing anymore. I'm working out consistently, changing it up (just started Body Combat 3 weeks ago) and I almost always stay under my calories.

If anyone wants to check it out, my dairy is on myfitnesspal and I'm assilembob on there too. I'd take whatever advice I can get at this point. I have 250+ days of logging! To me for the most part (I do have one treat a day usually) I eat really healthy.

Your body is probably holding onto water if you are keeping your calories consistent.

For two or three days you want to experiment with going as close to zero sodium intake as you can and reducing the fiber in your meals ( especially cruciferous leafy greens ). Eat only things that go through your system quickly for a FEW days. Some foods can stay in your intestines for days, binding up a lot of water. During this time you can also make sure to keep your heart rate lower during your cardio not letting it go out of the fat burning range. Having some tea in the morning ( diuretic ). If all of that doesn't make your weight budge after 2-3 days, try skipping lunch on one day ( only ) during one weekend. That might shock your system. No research to back any of this up, just anecdotal experience.

Sounds like a lot of us struggle with the body maintaining weight despite doing all the right things for weight loss. I hope you all either figure it out or your body lets go of the weight you're holding on to.

Assilembob, I haven't figured out how to add people via username on Myfitnesspal, but you can find my username farther up this thread (athiker2010, I believe). Add me!

I don't have a scale yet but have been basing off a few pounds under a weight I was in mid-late december. I've been measuring once a week and this week I had some semi-significant results! -.75 inch on my waist! I'm getting weighed at my doctor's today, so I'll have a more accurate number to input tonight. Yay!

_________________"Vegan to me means Oreos for breakfast." -Poopiebitch"tl;dr: I quit working to drink beer paid for with gift cards" erikasoyf*cker

It seems dangerous to me but I'm trying something quasi new. I've been having a lot of problems with rebelling and honestly, having a personal trainer who harped on me about days I didn't log into MFP didn't help (I'm taking a break from the personal trainer for now). I decided to see if I could follow some intuitive eating guidelines to help get rid of some of the rebellion feelings I've been having lately. It is truly scary though but so far so good. My next step if this doesn't work is probably go to counseling which is something I thought about doing a couple years ago, even contacted a counselor but never went through with it.

I'm also doing some exercise every day which is a good thing but for now I'm not counting calories or anything and see where that gets me. Although a lot of it seems counter intuitive to me considering we know some foods are more filling than others (high fiber foods, vegetables, legumes, soups, etc) while other foods can cause a spike in insulin and a resulting blood sugar drop/cravings (high GI foods, sugar, refined carbs, etc). But we'll see.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.